Transportation Funding

St. Louis Transportation Wish List: Bike Paths, Streetcars, Sidewalks

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay released a wish list of projects that could be funded by a proposed sales tax to fund transportation projects.

June 3, 2014 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

New TxDOT Head Will Focus on Traffic Safety, Alternative Modes

The Texas Transportation Commission's choice to run the Texas Department of Transportation is a former Marine Corps lieutenant general with a progressive take on the state's transportation challenges.

May 22, 2014 - Dallas Morning News

A Transportation Redline that Obama is Required to Keep

If Congress can't agree how to fund the Highway Trust Fund shortfall, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned state DOTs that he will be unable to reimburse them for funds already spent. The redline is the $4 billion mark projected to come July.

May 11, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - Politics and Policy

Grow America Transportation Bill Would Open the Door to Tolling on Interstates

Although its unclear just how much influence the Department of Transportation's surface transportation authorization bill, called GROW AMERICA, will have (if any at all), the bill makes apparent a sea change with regard to tolling of the interstates.

May 1, 2014 - Washington Post

Secretary Foxx Talks Funding (and Possibly Tolling)

A recent article by Yonah Freemark details the policy agenda of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the former mayor of Charlotte and successor of well-regarded Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood.

April 26, 2014 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Seeking Funding: Light Rail Route from Miami to Miami Beach

Local officials agree that a light rail system from Miami to Miami Beach would work, and they have embarked on a partnership to win the funding to commence a study of a potential $532 million route.

April 4, 2014 - Miami Herald

Philadelphia Sending More Money to Street Repair

Following a long winter, the Philadelphia Streets Department is on pace to break records for pothole repair, but that won’t be the only improvement paid for by a proposed 33 percent increase in funding to the Streets Department.

March 18, 2014 - PlanPhilly

Post Peak Driving, America Needs a Road (Construction) Diet

Though it may be too soon to say for sure, it looks like the United States has reached peak driving. So shouldn’t we cut back on new road construction?

March 3, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Driverless Cars: A Boon to the Federal Budget?

The federal government is notorious for putting off road improvements. The good news? If driverless cars become a reality, they can keep putting them off—forever.

February 23, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Opposition to Transportation Sales Tax Rides BRT in Gainesville

The Alachua County Commission and the Gainesville City Commission are considering a countywide referendum to raise sales tax revenue for transportation projects. Road repair is an easy political win, but bus rapid transit...not so much.

February 22, 2014 - The Gainesville Sun

Will 2014 Bring a New Transit Tax Push in L.A.?

Los Angeles area officials are discussing options for placing a new transportation funding measure before voters. A similar effort in 2012 failed to pass the necessary 67 percent threshold by less than 16,000 votes (out of nearly 2 million cast).

January 1, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Congress Contemplates Cooperating on Infrastructure Spending

Might a recent agreement to fund water projects pave the way for more transportation spending? That's what positive signals out of Washington seem to indicate. Just one small obstacle stands in the way: how to finance road and bridge projects.

October 30, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

The Effects of the BART Strike May Linger Long After it Ends

The acrimony caused by the second Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) worker strike of the year might jeopardize the revenue generating tax increases planned throughout the Bay Area.

October 21, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

A bus next to the re-located light rail station at Denver's Union Station

Denver Faces Light Rail vs. Bus Decision

The financial data is clear: BRT costs much less to go further and serve far more riders. Case closed, or is it? The Denver Post editors look at HNTB's cost and ridership estimates for the Northwest Rail Line and offer a recommendation, sort of.

October 11, 2013 - The Denver Post

Congressional Congestion Threatens L.A.'s Transit Projects

Could L.A.'s ambitious transit expansion plans become a victim of Congressional budget battles? The extension of the city's subway and downtown Regional Connector are among the projects funded by the Senate but neglected by the House.

August 22, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

South Carolina's $1 Billion Transportation Bill Signed By Gov. Nikki Haley

Over the next decade, $1 billion will be spent to repair the state's deteriorating roads. Like many states unwilling to raise gas taxes, most will come from transfers from the general fund, though $41.4 million per year will be from car sales taxes.

June 28, 2013 - South Carolina's $1 billion Road Bill Signed By Gov. Haley

Highway Robbery: America's Trillion Dollar Dirty Little Secret

It’s time to recognize that we can’t maintain the roads we have now, and that continuing down the path of highway expansion is both unaffordable and unnecessary, writes Stu Sirota.

June 20, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns

Despite Driving Decline, U.S. Builds for Far More Cars

A new study from U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group projects three scenarios for Americans' future driving patterns that all fall short of current government projections. Transportation planning priorities should be reconsidered, the study contends.

May 14, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Who Should Pay for Transportation Infrastructure? What is Fair?

Many people assume incorrectly that motorists pay their share of roadway costs through fuel taxes. Not so. Fairness would require much higher motor vehicle user fees to finance roadways.

April 29, 2013 - Todd Litman

TIGER Trains Transportation Planners to Think Different

In the first entry in a multi-part series looking at the federal government's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, Tanya Snyder looks at the impact the program has had on transportation planning and funding.

April 27, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

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